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Birdog
116 posts since
Dec 15, 2007

Oct 27, 2007 10:04 PM

Anybody wear a foot pod?

I'm searching around trying to find out about wearing a foot pod. I'm considering the new forerunner 50. I'm not sure about that foot pod though.
I like my shoes as tight, flimsy, and comfortable as possible. I don't know about that hard piece of plastic on the top of my foot?

Could I wear the pod on a band of some type on my ankle?

Yes...I am trolling for answers here. Also considering the f305. The rebate on that puppy stops at the end of the month. I also have a 201 that I'm happy with it's performance. Looking for something I can use indoors also.


Ron
When being chased by a bear: You don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun the other guy.
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mcsolar99
1,018 posts since
Aug 14, 2007
1. Oct 27, 2007 10:37 PM in response to: Birdog
i have a polar s625x, with a large footpod. it's an accelerometer, so it needs to be tight in the laces. no problem -- i wear it with trainers and racing flats.

the garmin footpod is just a gps receiver, right? in that case i don't see why it would have to be tightly laced down, so you might get by with an ankle strap of some sort.

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Click to view Birdog's profile Pro
Birdog
116 posts since
Dec 15, 2007
2. Oct 27, 2007 10:49 PM in response to: Birdog
Garmin has a new gizmo. The foot pod is an accelerometer. It's for working out indoors.


Ron
When being chased by a bear...You don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun the other guy.
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AKTrail
360 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
3. Oct 28, 2007 1:17 AM in response to: Birdog
My gut feeling is that the footpod would need to be on the foot. While accelerometers in general can be worn anywhere, depending upon what type of data you're looking for (I think some are used in physical therapy), the footpods are probably programmed for foot-type motion, rather than ankle. But I've never tried. I do know that they don't register distance while running backward (yea, I had to try that), and they seem to have trouble recognizing forward motion at my speed when I'm going up 30-40% slopes..

Since a FR050 is basically a hrm with a footpod, I'm assuming you're more interested in the hr data. In that case, I'd lean toward a Polar that has software with it (not all models do). Not sure if price is an issue.

I've used a Polar S625x for 3 years, although I don't always use the footpod. I snug my laces up tightly anyway since it's easier to run with shoes firmly attached to feet. I'm much happier with it than I am with FR305, which I got while my 625 was off getting new battery. I don't notice the footpod on my foot. However, if you're running in much snow, you may need to brush the snow off occasionally as its signal may not be received by wrist unit.

If you're primarily interested in GPS and leaning toward FR305 and don't care about elevation data (those of us that do lots of hills like reliable hill information), you might want to just add a footpod to the FR305 https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1458[/URL" target="_blank">

While Garmin has added footpod to their FR305, Polar has added GPS units to one of their 800 series, I think. Both companies recognize that footpods and gps units have uses.
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mcsolar99
1,018 posts since
Aug 14, 2007
4. Oct 28, 2007 10:58 AM in response to: Birdog
(oops, missed the inside comment the first time...)

yeah, i second ak's comments. i saw that the distance measured with my polar 625 varied with pace, until i laced the footpod tighter. now if i grab the footpod and wiggle it, the whole top of my shoe moves. i regularly run up and down a mountain road, 7:30 pace down, 10:30 pace up, and i get equal measurements in both directions within 10m.

i don't notice it anymore, even when i wear it with racing flats. and i have worn it on treadmills, just to record my workout pace... works just fine.
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